9.25.2013

My Lady Skater Dress

1. I'm having trouble with my camera, so my photos are grainy. I'm trying to balance taking large photos so I can edit and space on my computer. So far, it's a loosing battle.

2. on this particular day, my son has had a stomach bug for 1 week+, we've been to the pediatrician for what they thought might be appendicitis, and my 7 year old daughter has thrown up all over my car

So, my photos are grainy, my dresses are wrinkled, and I'm feeling kind of grumpy. Now that I've set the tone, on to the dresses.

I love, love, love this pattern. It's super easy to sew, and though I was skeptical, it really does flatter most body types. I perused the Flickr group before I made mine to see what other had done and was really impressed.

The orange dress above is a medium weight, cotton Lycra blend that has a really nice weight and drape (similar fabric). The contrast band at the bottom is a charcoal ponte knit.

For my second Lady Skater I wanted something more neutral that I could pair with a colorful scarf and boots.

So I used the same charcoal ponte knit from the band on the orange dress. The problem is, the ponte has much less stretch.

It looks okay on, but it's a bit tough getting on and off. I still love it and will definitely wear it. Next time I'll be a little more aware of the stretch. The pattern has great guidelines for choosing fabric and how to test the stretch. So I definitely I don't have a good excuse

Lastly, here's my super ugly muslin. I was really glad I did a muslin because for my body, I definitely needed to make some adjustments.

I cut a size 4 initially, but ended up blending the upper body to more of a size 1 or 2. I also cut the armscye in a bit based on my own t-shirt pattern and made the neck a little wider.

12 comments:

There is no such thing as too many dresses, especially when you look like YOU :) Seriously, these dresses fit you so well. The color band at the bottom is genius, really changes up the look. I really need to take the time to do more work on this pattern, it's so close to fitting and then I'll be able to make 600 versions too. Pretty sure I just need to move the waist seam up above the fattest part of my torso. Right now it's like an innertube highlighting my empty baby apartment...

Definitely lift that waist seam above the tummy fluff (if you have it!). I can get away with a lower waist if my fabric is patterned and / or heavy but if it's drapey so the skirt's weight pulls it down or if it's a subtle print I move the waist up an inch.